The Heist
by short-macchiato
Summary: The Amis, Eponine and Cosette are attending the famed Corinth University however, when government legislation threatens their way of life their seems to be only one option; revolution. Modern University AU ExE
1. Chapter 1

**_Prologue_**

She stands before the podium, palms sweaty and heart racing. She's worked for this all her life - well, for the last 20 years and now, as she stares across the crowd of teenages who are talking anxiously she cannot help but feel as if she has finally, finally made it. And god, does that feel good.

Before she starts, she glances over, into the wings of the theatre and he smiles back at her. He is bouncing on his heels, almost bursting with energy. He smiles back even though his eyes are distant and it is obvious that he isn't really with her. No, Enjolras is in the zone, it's game day even though this is nothing more than a small speech at a university. This is how he became Prime Minister at such a young age, going 100% at everything, never stopping, never allowing anyone else to catch up.

They have been planning this for weeks now, some how keeping it under wraps - he was sure his press secretary had no idea he was here. Now, as she stands before the crowd the chatter dies down and the students wait anxiously for their mystery guest.

"Alright guys, calm down, you're locked in here for the next hour but unfortunately in ten minutes you will begin to smell the sausage sizzle from outside. I tried to get it moved because the thought of hot dogs in the middle of summer is distracting for me too but alas, I think I need to be Vice Chancellor of this place before I can start getting my way." She pauses, several students laugh awkwardly as the rest just stare up at her, convinced their faculty co-ordinator is slightly out of her mind. She concludes that they are the smart ones.

"However, one man, after many years of endeavouring has actually managed to get his way here at this university. I would love you all to welcome to the stage a special guest and a very old friend of mine who was kind enough to join us here at Corinth today. I am sure this is suspenseful enough so without adieu I present to you the incoming Prime Minister and former Corinth University student Sebastian Enjolras."

The crowd fall silent in a moment of disbelief as they wait for physical proof that she was being serious, it is Enjolras' footsteps which finally break the silence, as he strolls confidently out on stage. The applause is deafening.

This tends to happen you know, when you are the youngest, most liberal and most popular incoming Prime Minister that the country has seen in over 30 years and the crowd sitting before him were amongst his most enthusiastic supporters.

In the past election he had managed to do the impossible, snare the under 30 vote from the small minority parties to one of the big two - his of course, greatly contributing to their hard fought victory over the Conservatives.

He was idolised by that age bracket, a hero, the man who was going to revolutionise the nation. Open up the higher education to the underprivileged, increase foreign aid and transform the welfare program. He was going to change their world, or he was going to try - the senate was quite hostile after all.

"Class of 2034, I'd hate to start today off with an old cliche but it genuinely feels like just yesterday I was staring up at my faculty coordinator on my first day, trying to hear what she was talking about as my friends spoke quite loudly throughout the ceremony. Eponine" he looks over to the woman standing next to him "Oh Professor Thenardier-"

"Eponine is fine, we'll use professor when I finally go grey"

He chuckles softly "Eponine, how long has it been twenty years? Longer"

"Please don't remind me."

The crowd laughs and after another wide smile in Eponine's direction he continues "As you all know now, I started my academic and political career here at Corinth University. As students, you have an incredible amount of power, you are tomorrow's leaders, teachers and writers. You have the power to influence generations as those before us have. It was university students in the 1970s and 80s who opened up education for those who were not part of the wealthy elite and it was students again in the mid- 2010s who attempted to reintroduce equal education after the governments of the 1990s returned to the elitist system. Those students in they were me, they were Eponine and we failed - but at least we tried. Today, there are still barriers preventing those from underprivileged backgrounds from attending university but now, the grassroots power**, **you have the ability to change our society. Right now, from behind your desks you have the power to change the world you live in, to vote, to protest, to rally, to revolutionise our world. My most important piece of university related advice is to give everything a go. Yes, classes are important but so are the unions, so are the protest weeks, so are those city rallies which block traffic throughout the city. You have the power and the opportunity to change the world, or at least give this University hell while trying."

The crowd breaks out into the type of applause usually reserved for rock stars because that is what he has become. A rock star rebel figure of national politics, the man who was on their side, finally.

Eponine remembers back to the speech they heard from their faculty coordinator - it put half the room asleep. But here he was and the room was electric, she had no idea how she would get their attention back now that all eyes were firmly - and expectedly - on him. "Thank you Prime Minister" she can't help but think of how strange that sound coming off her tongue.

As he shakes her hand he leans her slightly away from the microphone "Is your office still in Redmond East 652?"

"Yeah"

"I'll be up there with coffee."

"Get some sausages from outside too"

"Done."

It's only as he's walking into her office that he gets a message from Jehan, Director of Communications: _If Corinth sues us after some kid decides to start a revolution, you can pay out of your pocket._

They always hate when he deviates from the script.

* * *

**Hi everyone, this is my new story! I hope you enjoy it. If you choose to read on (I have decided to start with a double update) you will see that the story is actually set when they are all in university. I hope you all enjoy it and please remember to comment or leave some constructive criticism. Thank you for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Enjolras," the pretty blonde, Cosette stood before him, hair unusually messy and cheeks unusually red "we have a problem."

He wanted to ignore her, he didn't have time for problems, perhaps if he ignored her, she - and her accompanying problem would cease to exist.

"Enjolras!"

No such luck.

"What's wrong now?" He turned to face the girl, but she had already darted halfway across the field and was yelling at him to follow her, and quickly.

This is why he did things by himself, alone. When he did things himself there were never any problems, obstacles yes, but problems, no, and with this group of people, his friends, there were always problems. He put it down to the fact that they were large in number and pleasing everyone is difficult, that's why he does things himself, alone.

She led him to Marius' car, his back seat to be precise, where Enjolras had personally printed, packaged and placed four thousand flyers. The combined work of Jehan and Courfeyrac on design and himself and Combeferre working on banners and future sound bites. There were a few of them working in the project, so problems were assured; however in the early of this morning they finally finished. The rest of the boys went straight to bed and were granted the luxury of working the afternoon shift. But not Enjolras, no, rather than go to bed he chose to run over notes, confirm that flyers were done properly and ensure computers and databases were working properly in order to ensure everything would run smoothly for what would be their most important day of the year; orientation. However, in order to get the most members at orientation one needed to obtain prime real estate and that required being at the lawns before sunrise. Therefore he had somewhat willingly gone the past 24 hours with zero sleep, and his patience was waning.

"Oh hey Enjolras," Marius turned around from the drivers seat where he had been catching up on some sleep. "We thought we'd be nice and grab you some coffee for the big day. But there was this massive pot hole on our way in and well, let's just say putting the coffee in the back seat was not the brightest idea Cosette or I have ever had."

Enjolras paused for a few seconds and looked down at the pamphlets, at _his _pamphlets, soaked in cold cappuccino. _His_ pamphlets, _his_ work, _his _sleep gone.

"Where's Eponine?" he asked, tearing his eyes away for the disaster zone in Marius' back seat "she should have been here half an hour ago."

"She's busy," Cosette quickly spoke up.

"With what?" He didn't have the patience for Eponine and her inability to be anywhere on time today.

"With something that doesn't concern you," Cosette and Eponine were always incredibly protective of each other, being the sole females amongst the hordes of men that had become their group.

"Okay then, I need you to get her onto the phone now," his mind is racing but remained strangely clear as a game plan begins to form in his mind. "Tell her to go and wake up Combeferre and Courfeyrac, they have the hard copy for the pamphlets, she needs to print off a thousand and bring them here preferably within the hour. You will take the car to Courfeyrac and Combeferre's, load up the pamphlets and bring them here by 10 the absolute latest. Marius take these boxes out and bring them to the stall, hopefully we can salvage a few boxes worth. Sounds good?" He asked even though he neither waited nor cared for their response.

Before long Marius was removing the boxes whilst begging Cosette to drive the Jeep with care, they were listening and for Enjolras that was all that matters.

* * *

"I think," Eponine smiled as she chewed rather loudly on her gum "that this time next year you will be telling me to get onto a different carriage and turning your back on me, like Azelma," the pair glanced over at their sister who was sitting rigidly in the other direction, making sure not to look at her siblings.

"Only if you promise not to get all embarrassing."

Eponine gasped "embarrassing, me? Never!" Gav's face fell as he realised he had said too much, and didn't have to move as she pulled him into a huge hug, showering him with kisses and leaving purple lipstick stains all over his forehead.

"I hate you," he laughed finally weaving his way out of her grip "are you going to be here to pick me up tonight?"

"Sorry kiddo, we've got a meeting at the bar, and I'm working, so lets do a quick-"

"Can't I just come to the bar, Courfeyrac said he'd help me with my maths, it needs to be at least two years in advance for the Sir Edmund Corinth scholarship at the science school. _Please_, I need to improve otherwise ill be forced to go to Azelma's school!" the boy was almost panting by the time he finally finished.

"Alrighty Gav, there are two immediate flaws in your argument there. One, I also attended Azelma's school and I'm not sure if you have checked the most recent statistics, I am now studying at Corinth University which was recently ranked as the second best university in this glorious country and was my first preference. Secondly, Courfeyrac's mathematical skill is about on par with mine - as in when a store says 10% off he estimates 10 dollars off regardless of what the starting price was. Really, what's more likely is that you two are going to play the cinnamon challenge in the kitchen and forgetting to clean up after yourselves. If you really, wanted to improve your mathematical skill you would ask Combeferre who is choosing maths as his minor because he is slightly insane. But no, you wouldn't do that because you would rather play chubby bunny than actually learn anything."

Gav just rolled his eyes "you're annoying when you act like a mother."

She smirked. "You're annoying when you act your age!" He shoved her. "Just kidding! Alright your stop is next, final checklist, do you have keys?"

Gav quickly looked in his bag "yep."

"Awesome, phone?"

Gav reached into his bag to pull out his brand new iPhone - a gift from Eponine and Azelma for Christmas "yep."

"Doing good Gav doing good, that phone is for emergency purposes only okay? Emergency purposes are if you are being held up at gunpoint, knifepoint, being kidnapped or robbed, if you are injured or someone else around you is injured or dying, or there is a fire. And you can call me or Azelma okay? How about lunch?"

His face fell as he quickly rummaged through his backpack "Crap Eponine, I left it on the bench."

She groaned and reached into her pocket, giving him her lunch money " thank god I drowned that sandwich in peanut butter."

* * *

By the time Eponine arrived back home to collect her sandwich, Cosette was already waiting outside. Eponine tried her best not to laugh when she discovered what had happened to Enjolras' beloved pamphlets, she really did but she had a terrible sense of humor. What could possibly be more hilarious than Enjolras' pamphlets - the one's he had badgered everyone about for the past month - being ruined? Well, she could think of one thing, his face upon discovering them. Oh, if only he had ruined them himself that would have been true comedic brilliance, and she would be sure to never let him forgetting.

She will just have to bide her time, it will come, it will come.

Cosette is one of those people, you know the ones, they appear quiet, timid and sweet… until they get in the car. In the car Cosette is more pedal to the floor, white knuckled, blind rage than sweet and subtle and Eponine cannot help but wonder if Enjolras knew how much she was enjoying his pamphlet crisis and therefore had stuck her in the car with Cosette as some sort of sick revenge. Eponine didn't mind so much until (and she will swear black and blue on this if you were to question her) Cosette had Marius' car airborne as she went down the hill in Combeferre and Courfeyrac's street.

Combeferre was waiting at the door for them, still in his pyjamas (which he had no intention of getting out of until well past midday) holding three boxes of pamphlets. "Killing trees ladies, killing trees."

Cosette just shrugged her shoulder from the car seat (again she was a completely different person in the car) "Marius's fault. Hey Eponine, do you want Macca's?"

"I think if we did that, Enjolras would kill us."

"Literally?"

"Literally."

* * *

The campaign had gotten off to a flying start with members of the Amis flirting with various students in order to get them to sign up to their club. It was pitiful, it was shameful, and it was working.

"Woah Grantaire, what are you doing here? It's...it's before 9:30" Eponine dropped the final box with a loud thud causing Enjolras to shoot her a glare. "And you're wearing yellow, you hate yellow."

"It's not Grantaire" Grantaire (or not) replied, not even looking up from Marius' laptop.

"I'm pretty sure it is."

"Grantaire is an identical twin, I'm Joseph" his eyes still haven't left the screen.

"Oh my god Grantaire stop shitting me, I like this new look on you, yellow really is your colour"

"I'm not Grantaire"

Eponine rolled her eyes "Enjolras, back me up here, don't you love the yellow on Grantaire?"

Enjolras smirked, looking over in her direction "That's not Grantaire"

Eponine rolled her eyes, sighing loudly as she walked over to Enjolras "Okay is this some sort of in joke that I'm not a part of?"

"No" Enjolras was still smirking "Grantaire really has a twin."

"No way!"

"Yeah and he's the exact opposite of Grantaire, it's brilliant"

"Woah, I feel like I barely even know him" Eponine says softly, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Who, Grantaire or Joseph?"

"Both."

She smiled back at Enjolras as he laughed softly, his expression changing to a cheeky smirk "Hey, did you enjoy your car ride"?

"Did you enjoy your coffee?" she smiled even wider as she started handing out flyers to new students.

* * *

Enjolras was the first to admit that he did not improve of his group's campaign tactics, which generally involve shameless flirting and Courfeyrac openly advertising to female passer-by's that Enjolras is very much single and apparently looking for a girlfriend. He wouldn't mind, except that every time he heard this, he could not prevent his cheeks from going pink and every time a girl did take Courfeyrac up on his offer Enjolras would have to conjure up some excuse which would not be too offensive so that she would still hand over the money - who ever said politics was noble profession?

Though, that being said Enjolras would also be the first to admit that the tactics his friends employed worked. By the time his shift ended and the evening troupe - Combeferre, Courfeyrac, Joly, Jehan and Bossuet had arrived, they had already set an all time record for money fundraised through a university club or organisation- $ 14 000 - Courfeyrac and Bahorel are now debating what to spend the excess money on, letterman jackets or basketball shirts for the team they were yet to start, but hey with these guys anything is possible. He wasn't sure which was worse.

Rather than return home for some much needed sleep, he quickly made his way across the busy lawns and to the top level of the Campus Centre where the most popular location on campus during the semester was located - the bar. Lamarque's named after the leader of a group of university students (which Enjolras and Combeferre's fathers were part of) which succeeded in abolishing university fees. Their successes were short-lived, but famed enough to earn a pub in their honour, which was better than nothing.

It was a warm day outside, the sunshine enough to tempt people out of the bar and onto the lawn. Apart from a few girls speaking in hushed voices in a corner it was empty. Enjolras quickly snatched up one of the few tables up on a slightly raised podium which would serve as his stage for the night.

Tonight was the most important night of the year - well that was probably a _slight_ exaggeration - however tonight was when their party - The Amis of the ABC - would convince the new and some old students to join their cause. The name was Jehan's idea, apparently everything sounds better in French, and more sophisticated. Not to mention that the French did have a long history of student rebellion and revolutions and therefore it fit. Well perhaps it didn't, but no one argued with the suggestion, and they were unable to come up with a better name, to the Amis it was.

This was the biggest night of the year, was their chance to showcase what their organisation was all about and what made them different (and in Enjolras' opinion, far superior) to the faculty organisations. They as a group were able to introduce themselves to first year students and make themselves accessible to the student community. Considering they were completely self-funded, it was a further opportunity for them to raise money. And there was free beer, yes; they were bribing people to get them through the door. It was Grantaire's suggestion and he had been completely against it, he felt that giving out free booze cheapened their organisation, everyone just ignored him.

Well, not everyone. Eponine, was a surprising opponent to this proposition. As a bartender at the Lamarque's (and the unofficial Amis HQ and subsequent venue for the night's launch party) she really did not want to deal with a bunch of eighteen year olds, who had not quite figured out their alcohol limits just yet. And Eponine just could not be bothered with it. But alas, no one listened to either of them, and the bar was booked, it's manager jumping at the chance to earn some extra cash before the semester begun - after all, it was a long and quiet summer for campus bars.

"Hey," Eponine sat herself down opposite Enjolras, who was writing some last minute notes into his speech. "Have you ever considered typing those notes up?" she asked as she watched his left hand, smudging ink marks over the paper.

"I did, once, and then the computer broke and I lost everything."

"And you've never dropped a coffee a book or something?"

"Never" he replied, setting his pen down.

"I don't know whether to be amazed or just to conclude that you're a little strange" she smirked.

"I think you're just clumsy. Don't you have work to be doing?"

"Trying to get me to piss off? I can take a hint," she winked. "Look, I just wanted to ask if you mind if Gavroche comes to a few of the meetings, he doesnt-"

"Why are you asking me? This is a public space, of course he can-"

"It's just that you-"

"Eponine, I really don't care, as long as he isn't driving me up the wall, which he usually doesn't it will be fine."

"Oh okay, thanks," Eponine smiled getting up to go back to the bar. "Did you want a coffee or something?"

"Yeah, espresso? Also, don't say thank you, it makes me feel like I've allowed him to come."

* * *

Montparnasse is a people person, you just ask him. He loves people, all of them, from children to the elderly and everyone in between, he fashions himself as quite the ray of sunshine, really.

But there is one thing he hates, more than anything in the world, and it is unfortunately, intrinsically tied to people.

Customers.

Which is why he works in hospitality.

"You're late!" Eponine shouted as he rushed past her and into the storeroom.

"I'm five minutes early"

"You're 55 minutes late, didn't you get my message" she followed him back to grab some stock.

"That was from you, you know I don't listen to you, only boss"

Eponine rolled her eyes "This is why they kicked you out of uni last year?"

"No, that was because I never submitted my assignments on time." Montparnasse helped by bringing a few more crates of beer out to the front.

"Punctuality all the same!"

The line to enter into the bar stretched out the door, through the corridor, down the stairs and out into the courtyard just below the bar, and Enjolras was freaking out. This was what he lived for, all that he had been striving towards over the past three years, but now, now he needed to make an impression, he needed to give these students a reason to fight and that was, well, daunting.

He was hunched over a table, on an elevated platform in the room, which would later become his stage. Flanked by both Courfeyrac and Combeferre, they were combing over their notes, adding in last minute alterations and smiling giddily amongst themselves. Finally, the day was here.

Out of the corner of her eye, Eponine could see Marius and Cosette, greeting students as they walked through the door and signing up even more memberships. Soon after students (and new members) entered the bar, they were pounced upon by Joly, Jehan or Bahorel, who quickly informed them of what the night would involve as well as how to redeem their free drink card. They were then ushered to the bar, to be greeted by Eponine (Montparnasse had chosen to run the kitchen for the night) who would provide them with two beers - house only - though more than one boy had tried to beg for a boutique beer from the cabinet.

"You know, considering you are just sitting around here doing nothing" Eponine shouted over the noise in the bar back at Grantaire, who was sitting on the bench in the staff only section "you could help out."

Grantaire took a swig from his third beer "Am I getting paid for it?"

"No."

"Well then why would I do it?"

"So you're basically useless," Eponine huffed, attempting to hand six beers over the bar at once - she needed to convince her boss to employ more staff.

"Hey, I am here to bring you news from the outside world!"

"The what?"

"Nothing really, just letting you know that Feuilly and Bossuet are running late"

"Enjolras is going to kill them"

"Well they were here but security made them line up to enter, and when they got to the entry, Bossuet realised he had forgotten his student card at home, security didn't believe he was a student so they're going to look for it."

Eponine laughed to herself "And I thought you were the useless one"

Grantaire smiled, tossing an empty bottle into the bin "at lease I make an appearance."

Eventually the doors were closed on the pub, and the crowd fell into a hushed silence, waiting for Enjolras, the enigmatic, popular student leader to make an appearance. He emerged from within the crowd, flanked on either side by Combeferre and Courfeyrac. Eponine watched as the crowd leaned forward, eager to hear what was to come next. And as always, Enjolras didn't let them down.

"Friends, both new and old," Enjolras' eyes darted nervously around the ground, though he tried to mask it with his loud, boisterous tone "I would like to begin by saying thanks so much for coming tonight, even though I know most of you are probably here for the free beer." The crowd laughed, helping him to relax.

"At first I was a little annoyed at that little marketing ploy Jehan and Grantaire cooked up, thinking that such a serious group needed to have serious meetings, but I now see that I was wrong. If it was not for their added incentive I would be talking to an empty room, but seeing as we are so cramped in this tiny room that Joly has informed me that we are violating some safety regulations I believe it is safe to say that it worked. So thank you Jehan, Grantaire and Heineken for that." He smiled down at his friends and gained another soft chuckle from his audience, this was going well. "

"Now, onto more serious matters. I stand before you as a student of one of the best universities in the country, and in the world, and that is an incredible privilege. I, just like all if you, are incredibly privileged to be in this position. However, as students, we are also incredibly vulnerable and we need to realize this. Every year, students are exploited right here within the university and we formed this club two years ago in to put an end to this. For example, last year, eighteen students from this history department were wrongly placed on the plagiarism register after a computer glitch. This spelt the end for their careers, with their names on the plagiarism register they would have never been taken seriously as historians. One of them was a member of The Amis, she sought out some of the free legal services we provided and upon further investigation, it became evident that a mistake had been made. We forced the removal of eighteen students from the plagiarism register and in doing so, launched a university wide investigation into how plagiarism is judged by various faculties. Also last year, over one hundred students suffered from food poisoning in the Fried Food store down in the first floor of the Campus Centre. As a result of this we launched an investigation into food handling and safety standards, making recommendations on how to improve food handling across the campus. We regularly carry out food checks on all the retail venders here and this year, are including in our Campus Guide a rating, from one to five on the food safety – I repeat food safety, not quality – of each store on campus. For example Lamarque's, the bar we are all at here has a five star food safety rating which you can see through the sticker on the door, it is just one of the reasons why we chose it as our venue-"

"The other is because they do a great parma" Bahorel shouted out from the bar.

"They do an amazing parma" Enjolras agreed "best on campus."

"We aren't just some party club, or a regular faculty group." Enjolras continued, "The Amis of the ABC are much more than that. We serve the university community, you as students. You can almost always find one of our representatives her at the bar either working" he pointed at Eponine who waved from her spot behind the bar. "Or drinking" Enjolras smiled, toasting his audience "regardless, we are here for you, to provide you with the basic services that seem to get overlooked by the old men, sitting in their offices on the eleventh floor of the administration building. Now, that's all from me, I'm going to hand over to Combeferre and Courfeyrac who will be introducing the whole Amis team to you, and informing you guys on some of the upcoming events we would love for you to get involved in. Thanks for your time."

* * *

The mess the students left behind was incredible. Not an intentional attempt to trash the bar, rather the result of having over a thousand people crammed into a space not meant for any more than three hundred and Eponine knew that once the meeting, rally, whatever it was finally finished she and Montparnasse would have a long clean up ahead of them. The Amis stayed behind to help, throwing out papers and bottles but slowly they all left, the threat of early morning classes and the first day of semester sending them all home, well all but one.

"Eponine, do you want a lift back home?" Enjolras asked as he tossed another bag of beer bottles into the bins outside the pub.

"I'm not going for a while"

"I'll wait if you want, have you got classes tomorrow"

Eponine shook her head "Only three days this semester, I'm sure you've got some terrible schedule, go home, if you want."

"You sure? I can just get a coffee or-."

"Enjolras" Eponine sighed "If you have another coffee, you're going to start shaking, go home, go to sleep and I'll see you around soon, okay?"

"Alright" he shrugged gathering up his papers "I'll see you around."

It was just minutes after Enjolras had left that Montparnasse sauntered out of the kitchen "I thought he's never leave"

"He's helped out a lot more that you did tonight" Eponine smirked, gathering up more bottles from under tables.

"I help out in other ways" she could feel him smiling as he moved her hair to one side, placing small, soft kisses down her neck.

"How was Europe?" Eponine asked turning to face him.

"Cold" he said quickly before joining their lips.

"Did you go to-"

"Stop talking" he breathed before deepening the kiss, his hands roaming wildly under her shirt as she wrapped her legs around his waist and he carried her back to the store room, just like old times.

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading, I hope you are enjoying this so far. Thank you for reading and please remember that comments and constructive criticism are always appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

The Thenardier children were not morning people, in fact, Thenardiers in general (from what Eponine could remember) were not morning people, it was just the truth. They were late night scholars, gossipers and workers, from five o'clock onwards (that's 5pm, not am!) the three of them would come alive, like their own unique sun rising, they would flourish, but only at night.

Therefore, early mornings, and the school drop off were always difficult for them (and that's not even taking into account Eponine's punctuality issues - because that's a whole other issue). Eponine would jump out of bed, ten minutes before everyone else - but always ten minutes later than she had planned - quickly wake up her siblings before claiming the bathroom for herself. Breakfast was eaten in complete silence, because it was far too early to talk before the three ran for the train, catching it just in time.

Needless to say, there really was not much time for tidying up, not in the morning, even if it was Eponine's day off. And therefore, she was shocked, and borderline on horrified to see Joanne, the government employee who assisted Eponine in her custody battle for her siblings, who was in charge of ensuring the children's welfare, was waiting outside of her front door.

"Eponine! It's been too long" she smiled, pulling the girl into a warm, tight hug, the type Eponine imagined a mum to give.

"Yeah, things have been good though" she smiled reassuringly as she noisily searched for her keys "sorry, the place is a mess, just letting you know, but apart from that everything is fine, really."

"Eponine" Joanne breathed as she stepped inside the house "It's a group of teenagers living in a house together, we expect it to be a mess. As long as the kids are safe, as long as they are going to school, sleep well and have a home they are comfortable in, we don't mind."

"I don't know" Eponine sighed, allowing herself to be vulnerable only in the presence of the woman who has helped her so much "I think they are but, their foster families were great y'know, they treated them well, gave them good opportunities."

"And they chose you" she smiled, sitting down in the living room, a calm presence as Eponine darted from one side of the room to another, cleaning up, making coffee, looking for biscuits "they haven't asked to leave, they're in school and their getting great marks, you're doing a great job."

"I'm really not doing much at all, it's all them."

"Regardless, it's working."

Joanne carried out the usual inspections, ensuring rooms were lived in, checking over attendance and health statement, as she had when the kids moved in there a couple of years ago. "Look Eponine, there's another reason I'm here today" she continued once the inspections were over. "All I want you to do is hear me out, I'm legally informed to tell you this, don't feel obligated or anything, just listen, take your-"

"What is it?" Eponine cut in eagerly.

"Maybe we should sit down - Eponine it's not bad news" the lady smiled calmly upon seeing the panic in Eponine's eyes "okay, so, your parents, following the removal of Azelma, Gavroche and yourself, your parents had two other children."

"You've got to be joking-"

"They are still very young, three and four, Pierre and Jacob and they are currently living with a foster family, but they have said that they do not want to children to raise, they're looking to retire from all foster care work."

"So, you're telling me this because?"

"Because we have two options here, and what happens to them is up to you, but again, do not feel obligated into anything at all." All Eponine could do was just stare, straight back at the lady, trying to comprehend what she was saying "if we adopt these children out, they will not remain together, prospective parents want one child, but it is rare for them to take on two."

"So they will be separated."

"Yes. That is why I am talking to you" she paused "If you take the children in, they will remain together, they will be reunited with their family and we will subsidise you of course, you will receive financial assistance which should cover the expense of the additional children."

Eponine's expression was unreadable, it was as if nothing was going through her mind, yet at the same time it was racing. It was too much information, too quickly and under the guise of "don't feel obligated" when it felt like she didn't really have any choice. "I'm going to have to think about this, I need to speak to Azelma and Gav- I- I"

"Eponine, that's alright, I never expected an answer today" Joanne smiled as she started to make her way towards the door "you have a month to think it over, otherwise we will be allocating the children a family. Would you like my opinion on this?"

"Sure" Eponine nodded, not really wanting to hear what she had to say.

"I think you can do it, it will be a challenge of course, but I think you're capable of doing it, with the help of Azelma and Gavroche, I really think you could provide these children with an incredible childhood."

_But does she realise that I'm still a child too?_ Eponine wondered to herself as she waved goodbye from the doorway. _I'm just not ready to raise a family just yet, and is there really anything wrong with that?_

* * *

"Eponine, focus! More elastic energy, come on" he coach, Aiden Zane shouted exasperatedly from across the court "and get those legs moving, did you do any exercise over the summer?"

"Of course not!" Eponine replied cheekily, lunging forward on a short ball as they prepared to warm up their volleys.

"And did you keep up that eating plan we set out?" he smirked, already knowing her reply.

"You mean fish and chips five days a week? Of course!"

"And we wonder why your legs aren't moving" he laughed "We've got West Coast CC this week, which is lucky, their team is pathetic."

"And we will still be the best team in the country." Eponine smiled cockily as the team gathered for drinks.

"I hope so."

Academic prowess was not the only reason why Eponine was given a scholarship to one of the best universities in the country. No, where they were from, academic ability is secondary to just one thing - one's ability to play sport. Eponine thought it was disgusting, the value that they placed on sport and sporting stars, back at high school, there were many of her peers who were just as deserving, if not more so of having to opportunity to go to university, but so many of them missed out, because athletic ability was a key component of almost every scholarship on offer.

Eponine was lucky in that way, she was naturally quite quick, with long, slender limbs which most women would lament, but she was thankful for. A less than ideal home life saw her spending her nights at the park with an old tennis racket she fished out of a garbage bin and some old tennis balls. When she was not studying, she was hitting the ball up against the brick wall in the park, for hours and hours until one of the local tennis coaches invited her to come and play at the local courts.

Eponine would sometimes say she was lucky, lucky to have met people like Gareth Anderson, the tennis coach, who would provide her with lessons, while she agreed to work in the club cafeteria to pay for them. Though as soon as she would admit to her luck, Eponine would be tempted to take it back because as a child, she was too scared to go home, she was afraid of her parents, and sometimes she would sleep overnight in a tunnel in the park and no one would come looking for her. She was nine. So she would smile politely when others would claim that she was lucky. She was not lucky, she was a survivor.

What about her brothers then? She couldn't help but think of them throughout the training session. A part of her told her to let them be separated, they are her blood yes, but it's not like she knew them, in fact, she wouldn't be able to pick them out in a school class photo. Perhaps if they didn't have names this would be easier, when something has a name, for Eponine at least, a face materialises as well, and with a face comes a personality, she wished she had never been told about them.

Did that make her a horrible person? Probably, but since when was it her responsibility to mop up her parent's messes? Since when did she think of children as messes?

"Eponine, I need more power on those backhands" these kids were already proving to be too much of a distraction, though Azelma loves kids, and Gavroche would tell her at night that he wished he had brothers. She had to tell them, though she didn't want to. If it was so difficult for her to make a decision, imagine if the three of them had to decide? They would never come to a conclusion. Even so, Eponine was the only adult in the family, she was the only one working, she had to fund this, shouldn't it be her decision she thought to herself?

Azelma needs a job.

Though she knew that if she made the decision for them, if she chose not to adopt those children, and Azelma and Gavroche were to discover the truth they would hate her. They would search for their brothers they would want that family. Eponine thought that they were more human than she was, they cared more, though that was probably because they weren't paying the bills, they weren't ensure this family stayed together. Though they wouldn't listen to her arguments, they wouldn't listen to reason. Reason really wasn't a strength of the Thenardier children and was increasingly less evident the younger the children were.

She knew how this was going to end. Either with Azelma and Gavroche not speaking to her for a few months, or with the three of them at IKEA trying to figure out where they can fit a bunk bed into their home. Either way Eponine was not looking forward to the decision she had to make. Infact, she wished she had never even been told about the other two Thenardier children.

"Eponine" a puffed out Enjolras smirked as he arrived at the courts "I was yelling out to you, the other guys accused me of not knowing you, is everything alright?"

"Yeah" Eponine nodded slowly "just y'know, focused and stuff."

"I had no idea you were on the tennis team"

"I have been since first year" Eponine said "you're on the baseball team right?"

"Yeah, do you go on uni games?"

Eponine shook her head "it's too hard with Gav being so young, I do weekly comps though."

"You should come on uni games" Enjolras said quickly "it's a lot of fun."

"I can imagine"

Enjolras's brow creased "I hope that isn't sarcasm I hear."

Eponine just laughed "I better get back to training, they're waiting for me."

"Shit, sorry, look I'm just letting you know that we're having dinner at Cosette's tonight, to organise the first real event of the year. You going to be there?"

"I'll try" Eponine sighed "I'll just have to make sure Azelma's home for Gav"

"Bring him" Enjolras said.

"You sure?"

Enjolras sighed loudly "I told you to stop asking me for permission on these things, he's your brother and it feels weird."

"Okay" Eponine smirked as Enjolras left to rejoin the baseball team "Can he bring his friends?"

"No" Enjolras quickly shouted back "I see what you did there!"

"See you tonight!"

* * *

Once again, Enjolras found himself staring into space, questioning why he even bothered with friends in the first place, oh that's right, easiest supporter base. The scene before him could only be described as absolute chaos. Following Cosette's father's dinner - barbecued prawns with spiced coconut rice - the group had retreated out to the balcony to discuss how to approach the year, how to get the most supporters. Though whilst that was the intention they had gotten lost somewhere along the way as everyone took their chance to complain about how horrible the school semester would be this year, and how their degrees were so much harder than everyone elses.

The fact that they were having lollies and alcohol for dessert also wasn't helping the situation.

They had also brought their homework with them, even though the night was shaping up to be painfully unproductive.

"Guys, what's the plan for the first event?" Enjolras quickly asked during a lull in conversation.

"Party" Courfeyrac replied.

"Not at the bar" Eponine added.

"How long did that take for you to clean up" Grantaire asked.

"An eternity, genuinely."

"Though it wasn't like you two were focused on cleaning for the whole night" Cosette grinned cheekily. The group fell silent "I was not meant to say that was I?"

"Especially not when my brother is studying right there" Eponine looked over, but Gavroche seemed to be pretty engrossed in his work.

"Back on track guys" Enjolras started again "Party, what kind, where."

"It needs to be in the city" Bahoral said "it's the easiest location for everyone."

"It also has to be on a Wednesday" Grantaire said.

"Why?" Combeferre asked.

"Monday and Sunday are for recovering" Grantaire started.

"Tuesday is half price drinks at Eden out in the east, Thursday is when everyone heads south for their clubs" Bossuet continued.

"And no one goes to uni parties on Fridays and Saturdays" Joly finished.

"Why not?" Marius asked

"Because, I don't know, they just don't." Joly replied.

"Okay then, Wednesday it is" Enjolras concluded for the group "Jehan, what's that bar that the Arts society rented out for their after party last year?"

"I think it was called Ibar, you want to have it there?"

"It was a good space"

"It's expensive though."

"We should combine the party" Combeferre suggested "The Amis in conjunction with the Arts society, Science society, Biomed, Engineering."

"It will boost attendance big time" Marius said "And cost us less than half the amount it would otherwise."

"Awesome idea guys" Enjolras said "Does anyone actually have friends in their faculties?"

As it turned out, most of the group was surprisingly well connected throughout the university, and they were all soon on the phone to various members of other faculties to get them in agreement. The day was set, Wednesday next week, and the theme, after a flamboyant and quite convincing 30 minute campaign from Courfeyrac would be 90s themed.

"Okay, so I've been quiet throughout this whole this" Eponine said "and I just have one request, can we please have a midnight kitchen?"

"A what?" Cosette asked.

"A midnight barbecue in the beer garden, oh you weren't at the Arts afterparty were you? It's the best, potato cakes and burgers at midnight, nothing better after a night of excessive partying."

"I remember that" Grantaire smiled fondly "it was the best."

"It's going to cut into profits though" Marius reminded everyone.

"Yeah but we could go to Costco and get some cheap crap, and charge people for the food, not much, like a dollar for potato cakes, three for burgers, two for hot dogs" Grantaire said.

"We can do a rotation, groups of two on the barbecue, half an hour each, that's a good four hours and I'm sure everyone would have left by then" Bossuet suggested.

"Venue closes at three so yeah, everyone will be out by then."

And so it was decided, the Amis would be holding their first ever event outside of O'week. There was a small part of Enjolras which didn't approve of having the party, purely because it was pointless. It did nothing to raise awareness of their cause or to inform students of the services the Amis offered, things like legal aid, assistance in getting jobs to pay student bills and providing students with affordable education. It was Courfeyrac who convinced him that it would be best to make the group seem somewhat accessible to the everyday student. Apparently, word around campus was that they were a little too intimidating and unapproachable and Courfeyrac had taken it upon himself to spearhead the change of the group's image.

Part of this change was the clear designation of roles for each member of the group. Students needed to know who could help them with their issues, they needed recognisable faces and names rather than an intimidating organisation who for some unknow reason (to other students at least) named themselves after eighteenth century French revolutionaries.

It was therefore decided, following hastily prepared speeches and a somewhat democratic vote that the roles would be assorted as follows:

Enjolras: Student rights and student legal aid

Combeferre: Student rights and student welfare

Courfeyrac: Editor of the Amis publication, student welfare

Bossuet: Environmental officer, social justice officer

Marius: Treasurer, social justice officer

Jehan: Writer from the Amis pamphlet, Queer officer

Joly: Student Welfare and health awareness

Bahorel: Legal aid, environmental officer

Grantaire: Queer Officer

Eponine: Student rights, Women's officer

Cosette: Women's officer, underprivileged student's officer

* * *

**Thanks so much for the support everyone, I really appreciate it so much :) Sorry about the delay I've had a little trouble writing. Thanks so much for commenting so far, please remember comments and ****constructive comments are always appreciated.**


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